Love and Lies
by AliasCWN
Summary: Love makes people do crazy things, but throw in a lie and the situation can turn ugly.
1. Chapter 1

**Love and Lies**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

Their arms loaded with supplies, Mark Hitchcock and Tully Pettigrew made their final trip from the supply building to their jeeps. Juggling the heavy loads, they walked along the side of the road to avoid running into anyone with their burdens.

"Do you think Sarge would care if we got a beer when we finish here?" Hitchcock asked as they walked.

Tully shrugged, "Can't hurt to ask." After a long dusty patrol, they were restocking the jeeps in preparation for the next trip out. "I could use a cool one myself."

"Sarge and Moffitt are going to see Captain Boggs so we'd better hurry if we want to catch them before they leave." Hitch picked up the pace so that they could get to the jeeps quicker.

Four soldiers stepped out of a side alley as the two privates walked by. One of them bumped Hitchcock's shoulder, making him drop the supplies in his arms.

"Hey!"

The four men stopped and turned around to face the two privates. The leader, a corporal, gave them a cold stare before he turned again and led the way down the street.

"Idiots!" Hitch grumbled as he collected the scattered provisions into a pile. "Darn!" He noticed the box of matchsticks had broken open when someone stepped on it. He looked up at Tully who was glaring at the spilled contents. "At least they didn't spill my gum." He smiled at Tully's scowl. Gathering the loose matchsticks, he hesitated, not sure what to do with them.

"Here." Tully grunted. "Put them in my pocket." Tully turned so Hitch could reach his back pocket.

The blond blew the dust off the matchsticks and dropped the large handful into the pocket, making sure he didn't miss any. "Sorry Tully, I can go back and get you a new box if you want."

"No." Tully shook his head. "We'd miss Sarge, and now I really need that drink."

Hitch stacked the supplies and managed to stand up holding the entire pile. The two privates walked the rest of the way to the jeeps without further incident. Troy and Moffitt were just leaving to see the Captain when they arrived.

"Hey Sarge." Hitch called to get their attention. They waited as the two privates approached. "Is it okay if Tully and I go have a beer before we head for our quarters?"

Troy glanced at Moffitt who shrugged in reply. "Sure, but only one. The Captain may have a new assignment for us soon."

"Got it Sarge, thanks."

Without it being said, it was understood that all the supplies were to be properly stowed before anything else. The sergeants headed for their meeting with the Captain while both privates got to work packing the jeeps.

"Don't make a sound."

Tully and Hitch froze at the order.

"Put your hands up and move around the jeeps. Over here."

They raised their hands and moved around the jeeps to stand between the vehicles and the wall of the motor pool.

The man giving the orders was the same one who had made Hitch drop his supplies. He held a rifle on them while another member of his quartet searched them for weapons. The second man tossed their knives into the back of the nearest jeep and stepped back.

"Tie their hands." The soldier with the rifle commanded. He glanced around to make sure they were alone, glancing nervously around from time to time.

"What's this all about Corporal?" Hitch asked.

"Shut up!" The Corporal snapped. "Pete, help Jimmy tie them up. Hurry up!"

The third man stepped forward with some short pieces of rope and between the two men they soon had both prisoners securely bound.

"What do you want?" Tully asked Pete.

"I said shut up!" The Corporal snarled. "Gag them, we can't have them yelling."

Gags were shoved into their mouths as both privates submitted without argument. They eyed the Corporal warily, trying in vain to place where they might have met him before.

Ignoring he prisoners, the Corporal turned to Pete, "Did Tommy get the truck?" Pete nodded in response, his head swiveling around as he watched for anyone headed their way. "Then signal him to get over here, this place is way too open for my liking. We need some privacy."

Pete stepped around the front of the jeeps and waved to a truck idling nearby. The driver put the truck in gear and revved the engine. He pulled into position in front of the jeeps and stopped. Both prisoners were hustled around the back and pushed bodily into the rear. Two of the soldiers, Pete and Jimmy, climbed into the back with them while the Corporal climbed into the cab with the driver. The driver wasted no time putting the truck in motion and getting clear of the motor pool. There was no outcry as they left the area with the two privates bundled into the rear.


	2. Chapter 2

**Love and Lies**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 2

After the meeting Troy and Moffitt left the Captain's office to head to their quarters. Neither spoke as they made the short trek to their assigned room. Passing the building where the privates were billeted, Troy paused to look up toward their window. He glanced at his watch and then back at the dark opening. "They should be back by now." An uneasy feeling twisted his gut.

"They should." Moffitt agreed. "We were in with the Captain long enough for them to have had their beer and gotten back in plenty of time."

Troy took another step and stopped again. He glanced worriedly at the dark window with a frown on his face.

"What's wrong Troy? You told them one beer, I'm sure they stopped at one. They're probably asleep in their quarters by now." Moffitt eyed Troy curiously. "Don't tell me you don't trust them."

"I trust them," Troy shook his head, "it's just that I have this odd feeling…. I don't know. You're right." He started walking again, heading toward his own quarters.

"But you can't shake the feeling?" Moffitt guessed.

"Yeah." Troy grinned sheepishly.

"Then let's go check on them. If I know you, you won't get any sleep until you know for sure." Moffitt smiled at Troy, knowing that it was true. Troy would be restless and uneasy until he knew for certain that the two younger 'rats' were indeed in their room.

Troy nodded gratefully for the understanding and entered the building. Climbing the stairs two at a time, they made their way down the dim hall. Troy hesitated at the door to the private's room, listening for the sound of snoring. There was no sound from inside and no one answered his knock. Moffitt tried the knob but it refused to turn.

"Hitch! Tully!" There was no response. "Hitch! Tully!"

"Perhaps they're asleep." Moffitt suggested, his own gut telling him otherwise.

"Hitch! Tully!"

The door across the hall opened and a tousled head appeared in the opening. "Can you keep it down? Those guys aren't in there." The sleepy soldier informed them. "They went out on patrol five days ago and they aren't back yet."

"Are you sure?" Troy turned to the annoyed neighbor.

"Positive. I've been here all day and I'm a very light sleeper." He stressed the word 'light' in irritation. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah sure." Troy replied, already forgetting the other man. "Something is wrong." Troy stated with certainty.

Moffitt nodded his agreement. The two spun on their heels and headed for the bar where the two privates would have gone for their allotted drink.

Twenty minutes later their frustration was rising; no one at the bar remembered seeing either of them all day. Not sure where else to look, the sergeants headed to the motor pool and the jeeps.

"What the….?" Troy looked at the supplies piled into the jeeps haphazardly. Usually stowed neatly, things looked like they had just been dumped into the vehicles.

"Definitely not their usual style." Moffitt added with a hint of worry.

"I'm going to check the motor pool, maybe someone saw something." Troy called over his shoulder, already walking that way.

Moffitt nodded and reached for the supplies to stow them properly, looking for anything to take his mind off the missing privates. Moving some of the boxes, a glint caught his eye.

Troy returned shaking his head at what the mechanics had told him. "The mechanics saw them bring supplies to the jeeps but they didn't see them leave." Troy was looking around as he walked, not looking at Moffitt. As he approached and Moffitt hadn't responded, Troy looked at the British sergeant. He stopped when he saw the look on his face. "What's wrong?"

In answer, Moffitt held out the two knives he had found among the supplies in the back of the jeep. Troy's eyes fell to the knives and his concern intensified. "I also found these." Moffitt opened his other hand to display four matchsticks.

"We know they were here Jack, they left their knives. They left the supplies that they had when we saw them last. Heck, we saw them here just before we went to see the Captain. Those things could have fallen out of his pocket at any time.

"No." Moffitt responded positively. He turned and walked several feet and pointed toward the ground.

Troy followed him and looked down, to see another matchstick lying by itself. A few feet further away was another one, and another several feet beyond that. They followed the matches around the jeeps to the front and beyond by a short distance….where they stopped. Both sergeants searched the ground for more but they didn't find any.

"Now what?" Troy growled in frustration. He glanced at the British sergeant to see him staring at the ground.

"Now I suggest that we follow these truck tracks." Moffitt raised his eyes to explain his reasoning. "The matchsticks stopped right here and there are footprints leading from the jeeps to these tracks. See here, someone was dragging his feet a bit. Perhaps not enough to be noticed by say,… a captor?"

"You're thinking they were captured and loaded into a truck in broad daylight, in the middle of our own base, and no one noticed?"

"If they didn't make a fuss, who would pay attention? I count maybe five sets of boots here, six if you count the driver."

Troy nodded and waited for Moffitt to continue.

"Hitch, Tully, and four assailants."

Troy nodded again, understanding the British sergeants' meaning. "Four matchsticks, four bad guys."

Moffitt smiled, "I think that that is what he was trying to tell us."


	3. Chapter 3

**Love and Lies**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 3

The truck driver made his way slowly and carefully along the streets of the base. The last thing he wanted to do was attract any attention to himself or to his truck. Weaving through the narrow alleys, he made his way to a couple of neglected buildings close to the Arab quarter.

The Corporal jumped out to check the area, making sure that their arrival had not attracted any unwanted attention. Seeing no one around, he ordered the driver to pull up in front of one of the buildings while they unloaded their prisoners.

Tully and Hitch were pulled from the rear of the truck and shoved into the larger of the two buildings. Still tied, they were each forced to stand against a support post where they were secured to the beam. The Corporal inspected the ropes and pulled them tighter, making them dig into the flesh. Within minutes their hands started to tingle from the lack of circulation.

Outside, the truck pulled away, to be parked where it would not give away their location.

"Pete, go take a look outside. Make sure no one saw us coming in here. Then make sure that Tommy finds a good spot for the truck. We can't have anything lead searchers here."

The one called Pete nodded and stepped out the door, leaving the Corporal and Jimmy with the prisoners.

The Corporal walked slowly around his captives as if studying them from every angle. His eyes blazed with a strong emotion as he looked at them. He didn't speak, he just walked around and around, eyeing them coldly.

"Wes." Jimmy spoke nervously to the Corporal. "What are we going to do with them?"

` Wes, the corporal, smiled at Jimmy before he turned back to the prisoners. "We're going to kill them Jimmy, just like I promised."

The private named Jimmy gasp in shock. "But you just said you wanted to talk to them!"

"And I will Jimmy." He smiled. "Right up until I kill them." He stopped in front of Hitch to look into his eyes. With a wicked grin, he placed the barrel of his gun under the blondes' chin.

Tully squirmed as hard as he could, watching the Corporal threaten Hitchcock. Struggling against the ropes, he tried to yell despite the gag. Hitchcock met the Corporal stare for stare, refusing to look away. He could hear Tully fighting the ropes but he couldn't look his way without breaking eye contact with the Corporal. He did his best to hide his fear from the other man. The barrel of the rifle under his chin dug in painfully as the Corporal twisted and pushed.

It was Jimmy who ended the staring contest. "Wes, don't you think we should wait for the others before we do anything?"

Wes smiled again, giving the rifle one final push, forcing Hitchcock's head up until his head banged off the post. "Oh I'm not going to kill them just yet Jimmy. I want them to suffer first; I want them to know why they are going to die. I want them to admit what they've done."

Tully quit struggling as he realized that Hitch was safe for the present. He glared at the Corporal with an unspoken warning to leave his friend alone.

"Don't worry Pettigrew, you'll get your turn; then your sergeants will get their turn. I'm going to kill both of them too."

Tully looked over at Hitch and noticed that the blond seemed just as confused as he felt. He couldn't place the men from any of their previous encounters. He'd briefly considered that they might be German but everything he'd seen so far suggested that they were American. Racking is brain; he tried to remember if they'd ever made anyone, other than the Germans, mad enough to kill them. There were several officers who came to mind who may have considered it, but this seemed too personal to be them. When he glanced at Hitch, he could see that the blond was not having any success in figuring it out either. Since they were still gagged, they couldn't ask any questions. They were forced to wait until the Corporal decided to explain it to them. Tully tried to catch Hitch's eye to give him a reassuring wink, but the blond was staring at Jimmy intently. Thinking he may have missed something, Tully gave him another look but he still couldn't place him.

They waited in an uneasy silence for Pete to return. The time dragged as the Corporal stared at them and Jimmy paced nervously around the room. They heard voices outside but the soldiers passed on by without realizing what was happening inside the building. It was over an hour before they heard Pete outside the door.

The door opening drew Tully's attention to the two men who entered. One of them was Pete, the other had to be the truck driver, Tommy. A flash of memory, gone as quick as it came, made Tully take a closer look at the two men. He could almost believe that he may have forgotten Pete, but that was not the case with Tommy. Tommy, he was sure he would have remembered. The tall, skinny private looked like a bean-pole on legs. Even his uniform looked too large for his thin frame; it hung loosely from his body.

"What took you so long?" Looking toward Jimmy, the Corporal looked irritated as he questioned Pete.

"We had to move the truck twice." Pete answered. "The MPs didn't like where we parked it the first time and made Tommy move it. Then some Arabs started nosing around and we had to move it again."

The Corporal jerked his head to look at Tommy. "Did the MPs ask you any questions?" Tommy shook his head. "Good. We don't need them nosing around. Did anyone see you come in here?"

"No, we were careful. That's one of the reasons we were so long getting back. We took the long way to keep an eye on our trail. Nobody saw us." Pete looked from Jimmy to the Corporal, wondering why his friends seemed so tense. "What's wrong Jimmy?" Pete looked past Jimmy to where the captives were tied; everything looked under control.

"I gotta talk to you Pete, can we go outside?"

"Talk in here." The Corporal ordered. "We don't want to attract attention by being seen going in and out of here."

Jimmy glanced nervously at the Corporal before turning to Pete. " I thought we were just going to talk to these guys, that's all I agreed to do."

"That's all we're going to do Tommy." Pete assured him, looking to the Corporal for confirmation.

"No, it's not Pete. Wes says we're going to kill them. He says that they have to pay for what they've done. He says that we're going to kill both of them and their sergeants too."

Both Pete and Tommy turned to stare at the Corporal, surprise evident on their faces.

"Come on now fellas," Wes chided, "you don't really think we went to all this trouble just to talk, did you?" The Corporal met their stares with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**Love and Lies**

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 4

"I thought you were just talking Wes." Pete stammered. "These guys are Americans, we can't kill them."

"Why not?"

"Because we're on the same side!" Pete shouted hysterically. "This is wrong!"

"Letting Arnie die doing their job was wrong! Letting that kid sacrifice himself to save them was wrong! They had a job to do, they should have done it. Someone has to pay, you agreed, someone has to pay." The Corporal's voice rose with each point he made.

"Wes, listen to me. Arnie's dead, killing them won't bring him back. I loved Arnie too, but this is wrong!" Pete pleaded with the Corporal. He took a step toward him, hand out, but the Corporal backed away, raising his rifle.

"If you don't want to help, just leave, walk away. I thought that you were Arnie's friends, but I guess I was wrong." The Corporal was shaking his head in confusion and denial. "I loved my brother, I can't let his death go unpunished."

"Then let's go kill some Germans." Pete argued. "They're the ones who killed him. We'll help you, won't we guys?" He turned to the other two privates for support.

"Sure we will Wes. We loved Arnie too. We'll help you kill all the Germans you want." Tommy hurried to agree, his eyes darting from Pete to Wes and back again.

"I'll bet we could even find some other guys willing to help." Jimmy offered. "Everybody loved Arnie, he was such a great guy."

"No." The Corporal refused to give in. "They got Arnie killed because they didn't do their job. If it wasn't for them, he'd still be alive. They have to die, and their sergeants too. Then if you want to go kill some Germans, I'll be right there with you. But these guys die first." The Corporal stepped back and so he could see both prisoners and his three companions all at the same time. "You got my brother killed." He looked at Hitch and Tully. "Do you even remember him?" He yelled as he noticed the confused looks on their faces. "Do you?"

Both prisoners met his angry question with blank stares; neither one could recall the incident described.

"You were supposed to be escorting their convoy. My brother was a truck driver in that convoy." He explained. "When the convoy came under attack, you and your sergeants ran, leaving the convoy unprotected." He searched their faces for any sign that they recalled the attack. As they continued to stare blankly at him, he continued. "You ran, you saved yourselves, leaving the convoy alone. My brother, my baby brother, sacrificed himself to draw the Germans away so the others could get clear. He died a hero, but he shouldn't have died at all." The Corporal finished with a sob. "You killed him!" He screamed.

"Wes." Pete began in a low voice.

"No! Go away! I'll do this myself. I owe Arnie that much at least." He aimed his gun toward Tully, who was closest.

Hitch grunted around the gag, trying to distract the Corporal. He twisted violently, yanking against the knots. The ropes held, not allowing him any way to save Tully. He glanced toward the privates, hoping they would intervene, only to see them hanging their heads. He prayed that Tully wasn't going to die right there in front of him while he was helpless to do anything about it. Looking back, he watched as the rifle barrel centered on Tully's chest and the Corporal's finger tightened on the trigger.

"Wes! The gun shots will bring the MPs running!" The one called Pete hissed.

Hitch closed his eyes in relief as the barrel dropped and the Corporal looked toward Pete.

"They're not far from here Wes. They made us move the truck, remember?" Pete pleaded with the Corporal to see reason. Tommy and Jimmy nodded at the Corporal as he stared at them. "You can't shoot them Wes, the MPs will hear the shots."

"Okay."

Pete, Jimmy and Tommy breathed a sigh of relief as Wes lowered his rifle. Jimmy suddenly let out a yell as the Corporal pulled a knife and lunged at the prisoners.


	5. Chapter 5

**Love and Lies**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 5

"Wes!" Pete jumped forward and grabbed the Corporal's arm as he lunged. The two struggled for control of the weapon until Tommy joined the fight. For a skinny, bean-pole of a man, he was strong, and with his help, Pete was able to gain possession of the blade. "Wes! We lied!" Pete yelled his confession in a panic. "We lied." He repeated in a softer, more subdued tone.

The Corporal stopped fighting to stare at the others, anger and confusion on his face.

"What?"

"We lied Wes." Pete indicated the others and himself. He couldn't meet the Corporal's gaze. He glanced at the others for support and they silently moved to stand beside him in a show of solidarity. Raising his head, Pete looked at Hitch and Tully, who were watching the drama unfold. "We never meant for it to get so out of hand. We never thought that Wes would ever show up in North Africa." Looking back at the Corporal, he explained his earlier declaration. "We lied about how Arnie died." At the look on the Corporal's face, he hurried on. "We loved Arnie too Wes. We really did. He was like a brother to us. I grew up with you and Arnie. You were the brothers I never had. All my life I can remember how Arnie and I followed you around. You never treated us like pests, like some guys treated their younger brothers. Arnie and I both, we looked up to you; you were our hero.

Wes shook his head, "I was just being a big brother."

"Not to us. Arnie used to talk about you all the time. He always said that someday he would do something to make you really proud of him."

"I was proud of him, I loved him." Wes argued.

"He knew that, he loved you too. You were always there for both of us, taking care of us, making sure that the older kids didn't pick on us. Arnie loved that about you. But he wanted to make you really proud, not just because he was your kid brother, but because of something he did to deserve it. We talked about that a lot."

The Corporal shook his head again. "He didn't need to do anything, I knew he was a good kid." He sighed heavily as he realized that he had almost made a horrible mistake. "So what really happened out there?"

Pete took a deep breath, reliving that day again in his head. "We were assigned to the convoy, just like I said. Captain Tyree, the officer in charge, called us all together to tell us that the Rat Patrol was going to be our escort. He said that they had plenty of experience and a good record of getting the trucks through. I don't know….maybe we just got too comfortable, feeling safe." Pete glanced at the prisoners again, asking their forgiveness with his eyes.

"Things went really well the first half of the trip. We saw the jeeps occasionally as they searched for Germans in the area. Then we saw one of the jeeps stop at the bottom of a hill and the sergeant climbed to the top to stand watch. The second jeep pulled up next to the lead truck to talk to Capt. Tyree. The jeeps drove away and the Captain called a halt to cool the engines, check the trucks and grab a quick bite to eat. While we ate he told us that our escort had reported a possible ambush site ahead and that they were going ahead to check it out. He said we were going to keep moving but we should stay in line and stay alert. If he gave the signal we were to scatter but everyone should follow the lead truck, just not in single file. According to the Captain, the driver of the first truck knew what to do and he would lead us through any trouble." Here Pete paused to look at Jimmy and Tommy. Both privates nodded at him to go on.

"We heard gunfire ahead of us, it sounded like American 50's and some German guns. The radio started to squawk and the Captain ordered us to disperse. We all scattered, getting off the road; the Captain had explained that sometimes the Germans have the road taped."

The Corporal looked confused at the last explanation.

"If they have enough time before an ambush, they mark off the distances so they can aim with more accuracy. It helps if they know the correct distance. Sometimes they set up mortars with preset targets and just wait for a truck to get to that point in the road." Tommy rushed to explain.

The Corporal nodded that he understood. "So what happened?"

"We don't know." Pete continued. "Like I said, we all scattered, but we were supposed to follow the lead truck. He circled to the left to avoid the ambush and the rest of us followed….all except Arnie. Arnie drove off to the right, toward the Germans. I yelled into my radio, I tried to call him back…I tried." Pete hung his head; unshed tears glistened in his eyes. "A halftrack came over the top of the hill above Arnie's truck. He only got off a short burst of fire before one of those guys," Pete nodded toward the captives, "came up behind him and blew his fuel tank. The halftrack exploded, but it was too late; his bullets stitched the cab of Arnie's truck. He was dead when I got to him."

"What about the Germans?" The Corporal asked in a low voice.

"There were four halftracks waiting for us; our escorts accounted for all four of them. None of the Germans survived the battle." Pete looked up to meet the Corporal's eyes. "Arnie was the only man we lost."

"What was he thinking?"

"We don't know. But I knew how much it meant to him for you to be proud of him. I thought if I told you that he died a hero, somehow he'd know, and it would make him happy. I never meant for it to come to this Wes. I loved Arnie, and I love you; I thought if he died a hero it might make it easier for you to accept." Pete broke down and began to cry, guilt and loss warring to control his emotions.

Wes stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the younger man. Jimmy and Tommy placed their hands on his shoulders for support. The four men mourned the loss of a brother, a friend, and a brother-in-arms.

Hugging Pete tightly, Wes cried for his brother, the first tears to get past his anger since he had learned of his death. "You didn't have to lie Pete. I always admired Arnie for who he was; the fact that he was my baby brother was just a bonus."

Pete nodded into the Corporals shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He kept repeating over and over.

The four were so engulfed in their grief that they didn't hear the door open or notice the two men who stepped inside.

"Don't move!" A gravelly voice full of anger ordered.

Despite the order, they all spun to face the speaker.

"You must be Sergeants Troy and Moffitt." Wes spoke for all of them, pulling himself together. "I'm…"

"Can it!" Troy ordered. "I don't want to know who you are." He jerked his head toward the bound prisoners and flicked his eyes to Moffitt. The English sergeant pulled a knife and rushed to cut the privates free. They wiggled their hands and arms to restore the circulation as Moffitt removed the gags.

"Are you two alright?" Troy kept his eyes on the four men as Moffitt pushed Tully and Hitch toward the door.

"We're okay Sarge." Hitch answered.

"Fine Sarge." Tully added.

"Okay, you two wait outside."

Hitch started to protest, uneasy about leaving the four men with an obviously enraged Troy. A look from Moffitt and another nod toward the door changed his mind. He nodded quietly and led the way out of the room, followed by Tully.

"I'm sorry Sergeant, this was all my fault." The Corporal started to explain.

"Somehow I doubt that Corporal." Troy snarled angrily. "We were outside, we heard it all. Good intentions can't fix bad mistakes." He looked pointedly at the privates. "The truth could have avoided all of this. You came real close to getting innocent people killed."

All three privates dropped their heads in shame.

"I don't know why your brother made the choice he did Corporal, I guess no one ever will. In battle decisions are made in seconds and sometimes people make the wrong ones. Maybe he was trying to distract the Germans to save the rest of the convoy. Maybe he just got confused. You'll have to make your own guesses as to that. My suggestion, give him the benefit of the doubt; you knew him better than anyone else." Troy paused to let his words sink in for the four men.

"The thing is, most people out here don't get second chances. This is your second chance, make the most of it. I don't want to see any of you ever again. You'd be wise to request a transfer to some other theatre of war, we get around a lot over here. Stay away from my men, all of them. If anything happens to any of them, you're the first guys I'm going to hunt down." Troy glared at them, waiting for a reaction. "Do you understand?" He yelled when they didn't respond.

Confused that he wasn't calling the MPs, they nodded silently.

"This is the only warning you'll get." Troy growled before backing toward the door. Moffitt ducked out ahead of him, rifle ready. While both sergeants were willing to give them a second chance after hearing their story, neither was willing to turn his back on the quartet.

The walk back to the motor pool was quiet as Tully and Hitch continued to flex their hands and fingers trying to get rid of the tingling from the lack of circulation.

They were almost to the jeeps before Hitch asked the question that had been bothering him. "Sarge, how did you know where to look for us?"

"Easy, we tracked you, Moffitt is a regular Indian scout." Troy smiled at the younger 'rat'.

"Across a base, in a truck?" Hitch looked at the English sergeant with renewed respect.

Moffitt laughed at his expression and winked at Tully, who grinned in return.

"No, really Sarge, how did you find us?" Hitch persisted when he saw the wink.

"Remember those matches you spilled?" Tully drawled.

"I offered to get you new ones." Hitch protested in his own defense.

"I know." Tully agreed. "But you put the ones that were on the ground in my back pocket, remember?"

Hitch nodded, uncertain what this had to do with their rescue.

"Well, I left Sarge a trail of matches every chance I got. I could still reach them with my hands tied behind me and nobody was watching us that close."

"Matchsticks?"

"Well," Tully grinned, "I didn't have any breadcrumbs to drop."


End file.
